Traditional martial arts - a potential tourism product

In the “Land of Steel - Land of Tea” Thai Nguyen, Vietnamese traditional martial arts are facing new opportunities. In addition to the meaning of health training and self-protection, traditional martial arts are gradually spreading widely in the community and gradually becoming a potential, unique, impressive and attractive tourism product. The combination of martial arts with cultural and historical experiences; tea tasting will create attractive tours. From there, contributing to promoting the image of the homeland and people of Thai Nguyen to domestic and international tourists.

The act of using a nail to stab the throat to lift a full bucket of water.

The activities to implement the Plan for Developing Vietnamese Traditional Martial Arts in 2025; the night of the stage and the Vietnam - Korea martial arts exchange program held recently have left many beautiful impressions in the hearts of the people and tourists. The elaborate martial arts performances have delighted many viewers. The traditional martial arts training and practice facilities participating in the performance demonstrate their high aspirations to contribute and serve. That is also a highly effective way to preserve, transmit, conserve and promote the quintessence of Vietnamese traditional martial arts, contributing to reviving the martial arts spirit of the people of the "steel land - tea land".

The appeal of traditional martial arts is that in addition to training health, improving one's own strength, it is also an art. Also because traditional martial arts practitioners are close to nature, knowledgeable about plants and understand acupuncture points, the circulation of blood and energy in the human body, so the schools participating in teaching martial arts always go hand in hand with oriental medicine, such as: acupressure, acupuncture, combining some types of plants into remedies to treat diseases.

Taking “benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness” as the most important, traditional martial arts have attracted a large number of participants. Currently, there are more than 10,000 people practicing regularly in the province. Among them, many people from provinces and cities across the country, when coming to Thai Nguyen to visit, enjoy tea, and discuss martial arts, have grasped the quintessence of traditional martial arts, so they stayed to become masters and learn martial arts. Among the students, there are many people who have suffered from neurological diseases and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases... who have come to the martial arts school for treatment.

Dramatic hard object destruction.

Mr. Doan Van Cong, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Chairman of the Thai Nguyen Province Martial Arts Federation, shared: Vietnamese traditional martial arts possess a systematic system of moves, combining skillfully the stances and flexible techniques. Sometimes it is gentle and graceful like a cat playing with a mouse, sometimes it is brave and strong like a fierce tiger in battle. In particular, hidden in the calm appearance of martial artists is a latent power that can surpass the normal limits of humans.

These quintessence need to be widely disseminated to the public through martial arts performances, both to serve the people and to contribute to promoting culture to tourists. - Mr. Doan Van Cong

Traditional martial arts have the opportunity to "take root and develop strongly" in Thai Nguyen - the land known as "the land of steel - the land of tea". Thanks to the province's attention with directives, instructions and mobilization of people to participate in training, along with the encouragement of martial arts masters to actively exchange and teach good martial arts, this martial art is increasingly spreading.

Martial artists use their necks and throats to bend steel bars.

In addition, festivals, sports events, martial arts tournaments and ring nights are regularly held, creating a favorable environment for traditional martial arts to develop. In particular, in Thai Nguyen, traditional martial arts have been combined with tea culture, gradually becoming a unique tourism product, attracting the attention of domestic and foreign tourists.

According to the elders, in Thai Nguyen, the people have the blood of martial spirit flowing in their veins. With more than 1,000 historical and cultural relics, each relic has its own story. For example, Muc Temple (Pho Yen City) worships Ly Nam De, the first king of the Vietnamese people; Duom Temple worships Duong Tu Minh, the historical relic of Van Mountain - Vo Mountain worships Luu Nhan Chu... the national heroes worshiped by the local people are all people who are proficient in military strategy and 18 martial arts.

Therefore, at the relics, areas and destinations of the province, it is possible to organize activities to recreate the stories of the hero who raised the flag to call on the people to defeat the enemy. The story is expressed through elaborate and skillful martial arts performances, demonstrating majesty and bravery, especially elaborate performances such as using: legs, arms, and heads to break hard objects; bending steel bars with the throat and nape; using eyelids to pull a cart and using nails to stab the throat to lift buckets of water...

The martial artists used a large rock to hit their hands to break the dry coconut below.

Bringing traditional martial arts into tourism events and festivals will make a difference, helping Thai Nguyen become not only famous for its tea and landscapes, but also a destination for martial arts culture. The combination of martial arts, tea ceremony and historical experiences will open up unique tours, attracting a large number of domestic and international tourists.

Currently, Thai Nguyen is making efforts to preserve and promote the value of traditional martial arts through tournaments, festivals, and martial arts classes. Combining traditional martial arts with tea culture not only enriches tourism products, but also creates a unique “cultural brand”, making tourists remember Thai Nguyen as a land of martial spirit and heroic traditions.

With its existing potential, traditional Vietnamese martial arts in Thai Nguyen are not only a heritage that needs to be preserved, but also a powerful tool for tourism development. The combination of martial arts, culture and history will create a Thai Nguyen that is both ancient and dynamic, ready to welcome visitors from all over the world.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/the-thao/202506/vo-co-truyen-mot-san-pham-du-lich-tiem-nang-5552052/